Container



May 1964 J. w. MCDUFFIE CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 18, 1961 INVENTOR JA MfS w. McDUFF/E M y 1954 J. w. MCDUFFIE CONTAINER Filed Aug. 18, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR JAMES W MCDUFHE United States Patent Ofifice 3,134,558 Patented May 26, 1964 3,134,558 CONTAINER James W. McDufie, New Holland, Pa., assignor to Sperry Rand Corporation, New Holland, Pa, a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 18, 1961, Ser. No. 132,398 4 Claims. ((31. 242-129) In an automatic wire tie hay baler there are usually two wire tying mechanisms for handing bales after the bales are formed. A wire coil is provided to supply each mechanism. Each coil, before wire is drawn therefrom, weighs around one hundred pounds. Therefore, placing the coils of wire on a baler involves considerable physical effort. To aid the baler operator, it is desirable to pro vide means whereby the coils can be handled with as much convenience as possible. Also, once the coils are mounted in proper place on the baler, it is important that the coils stay in mounted position and that the wire does not become tangled. Further, it is desirable to provide means whereby a partially used coil can be removed from the baler without fouling the wire.

One object of this invention is to provide a wire container which is easier to handle and use than wire containers of prior design.

Another object of this invention is to provide a wire container which is adapted to be opened, to receive a coil of baling wire, and then closed and latched to hold the coil securely in place.

Another object of tlL's invention is to provide a wire container of the character described which has top and bottom halves similarly constructed and interchangeable whereby manufacture, assembly and repair problems are simplified.

A further object of this invention is to provide a wire container of the character described which is designed to stand erect on a horizontal supporting surface with the coil axis horizontal, and without the container falling over or rolling.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a wire container so constructed that the coil is supported in a cradle on the bottom half of the container so that the coil will not shift around when the container is mounted in place on the baler, means being provided on the top of the container to facilitate handling.

Other objects of this invention will be apparent hereinafter from the specification and from the recital in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a wire container constructed according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation, looking from the right of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows the container opened, and is a section taken on the line 33 of FIG. 4 looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view of FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawings by numerals of reference, denotes a wire container which comprises a pair of vertically extending, spaced side walls 11 and 12. These walls are provided with coaxial openings 14 and 15. The sides of the container are connected to each other by a bottom pair of tie rods 16 and an upper pair of tie rods 18. These tie rods comprise bolts which extend through the respective sides of the container and are fastened thereto by nuts, as shown. Each tie rod extends through a sleeve 19 which holds the sides apart a desired distance.

The sides 11 and 12 of container 10 are formed as shown in FIG. 1, having horizontal bottom and top surfaces, 20 and 21 respectively, whereby the container may be placed upright on a flat surface. The configuration of the sides is such that the container will not readily tip over and/ or roll. The sides are horizontally medially divided at 22 whereby the container is divided into a top half 24 and a bottom half 25. The halves are interconnected along one lateral end thereof by hinge means 26 comprising a hinge element 28 on top container half 24 and a cooperative hinge element 29 on the bottom container half 25. These hinge elements are interconnected by a hinge pin 27 suitably held in a fixed position. The opposite lateral ends of the container halves are interconnected by latch means 30 comprising cooperative hinge elements 31 and 32 on the top and bottom container halves respectively. These hinge elements are the same as hinge elements 28 and 29. However, instead of a permanent pin being projected through the cooperating parts, as with hinge 26, a removable connecting pin 34 is provided. Pin 34 has a handle 35 to facilitate withdrawal of the pin whereby the top and bottom sections can be unlatched and the top half 24 can be pivoted about hinge 26 to open the container (FIG. 3) so that a coil of wire W may be mounted in or removed from bottom half 25; Handle 35 has some resilience and an extension 36 is provided which is projectable inside of and engageable with the adjacent container side to hold the handle out of the way.

The coil of wire, when disposed in container 10, has an axis which is parallel to the axes of openings 14 and 15 in the container sides 11 and 12. Wire is withdrawn from the coil from a free end 36 (FIGS. 1 and 2) extending from the core of the coil and then outwardly through opening 14, as shown. However, wire end 36 can be passed through opening 15 in the side 12, if desired. When the coil is positioned in the container, it seats upon the spaced tie rods 16 in the bottom container half 25, FIGS. 1 and 3. These tie rods form a cradle so that the coil will not readily move relative to the container when the coil is mounted therein. The bottom halves of the sides 11 and '12 are provided with radially outer located set of openings 49 and radially inner sets of openings 41. The tie rods 16 are projected through the inner set of openings 41. The upper container half 24 has radially outwardly located sets of openings 42 and radially inwardly located sets of openings 44. The tie rods 18 extend through the outer radial set of openings 42. With this structure, the tie rods 16 provide a cradle support for the coil W and the tie rods 18 provide handles to facilitate lifting the container.

Except for the tie rods 16 and 18, and the hinge members 28, 29, 31 and 32, the periphery of the container is opened. Thus, if metal straps or the like are provided around the wire coil W in manufacture, the wire coil can be placed in the container with the straps on. Thereafter, they can be snipped OE and removed without having to open or otherwise disrupt the container.

As Wire is withdrawn from the coil W, the volume of wire progressively decreases and the size of the coil diminishes. It has been a problem heretofore to maintain the last five or ten percent of the wire coil in proper position relative to its container. Such problem is solved in this invention by providing wire retaining members 50 which extend through slots 51 in the container sides, such slots being elongate in a radial direction relative to the axis of openings 14 and 15 of the container. The outwardly projecting ends of the retainers 50 have springs 52 connected to them, the opposite ends of the springs being connected to tabs 54 on the container sides. The springs 52 exert a radially inwardly pulling force on the wire retainers 59 so that the inner serrated edge 55 of each retainer firmly engages the periphery of the coil. Four retainers are provided which are angularly spaced relative to each other, as shown. The engagement of the serrations on the retainers with the strands of wire hold the coil in proper position relative to the container and as the wire is reeled out, the retainers adjust themselves relative to the coil so that they continue to exert a holding eficct thereon. The coil is held against collapsing when the last portion of the coil is reached.

The top and bottom halves 24 and 25 of the container 10 are of the same construction, and the halves are inter changeable. The space between the sides of the bottom half of the container is the same as the space between the sides of the top half. Thus, the side portions extend in the same transaxial planes relative to the container axis and their adjacent marginal edges abut. If desired, the top half 24 could be used as the bottom half of the container and the bottom half 25 could be used as the top half. The only structural distinction would be the location of the tie rods 16 and 18. When the particular half is adapted to be used as the container'bottom half, the tie rods 16 are projected through the radially inwardly located set of holes 41 whereas the tie rods 18 at the top half of the container are projected through the radially outwardly located set of holes. Thus the rods which support the coil, space it from the surface on which the container is mounted, and the other rods are spaced radially from the'periphery of the coil to make finger room so' that such rods will readily serve as handles.

It will be apparent that manufacturing assembly and repair problems are greatly minimized by this design. The hinge'structure 26 operates the same regardless of which half of the container is used as the bottom half. In like respect, the latch means 30 is not affected, the pin 34 being readily adapted to be switched around as desired depending onwhich half of the container is to constitute quickly and easily.

While this invention has been described in connection with a particular embodiment thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of modification, and this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains, and as fall within the scope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims.

' .Hztving thus described my invention, what I claim is:

' 1. A container for a coil of baling wire or the like comprising a pair of vertically extending, parallel, spaced sides between which the coil is adapted to be placed with the axis of the coil transverse to the sides and the sides being taller than they are wide, said sides having registering openings through which wire may be passed and being medially divided to provide a container top half and a container bottom half, the sides of said top half being in d the same transaxial planes as the sides of the bottom half and having abutting marginal edges whereby there is no overlapping of the respective halves, hinge means connecting said top and bottom halves along one lateral end of the container, latch means at an opposite lateral end of the container for detachably holding said halves together, said hinge and latch means both being located on the medial division between the halves, a pair of laterally spaced tie rods connecting the sides of said bottom half and providing a cradle support for the coil, a pair of laterally spaced tie rods connecting the sides of said top half. and so spaced from the coil that handles are provided for lifting the container, said top and bottom halves being constructed the same and being fully interchangeable.

2. A container for a coil of baling wire or the like as recited in claim 1 wherein said sides of said top and bottom halves each have two sets of holes for said tie rods, one set of holes being radially inwardly of the other set, said tie rods for said bottom container half being projectable through the inner radial set of holes and the tie rods for said top container half being projectable through the outer radial set of holes."

3. A coil container comprising a top half and a bottom half which abut against each other along a given line, said top half being of the same size, design and construction as the bottom half and both halves having the'same components whereby the halves are fully interchangeable, each half having a first hinge element at one end and a. second hinge element at the opposite end, both hinge elements of each half projecting'beyond said given line, the first hinge element of said bottom half interfitting with the second hinge element of the top half and the second hinge element of the bottom half interfitting with the first hinge element of the top half, a pin projecting through one pair of interfitting hinge elements to provide a hinge joint, and a removable pin extending through the other pair of interfitting hinge elements to provide a releaseable latch.

4. A coil container comprising a top half and a bottom half which abut against each other along a given line, said top half being of the same size, design and construction as the bottom half and both halves having the same components whereby the halves are fully interchangeable, each half having a first connecting element at one end and a second connecting'element at the opposite end, both connecting elements of each half projecting beyond said given line, the first element of said bottom half interfitting with the second element of the top half and the second element of the bottom half interfitting with the first element of the top half.

' References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,198,524 Cunlifie L Sept. 19, 1916 1,836,593 Harvey Dec. 15, 1931 2,151,025 Goldberg Mar. 21, 1939 2,268,547 Haines Jan; 6, 1942 2,501,201 Wilcox Mar. 21, 1950 

1. A CONTAINER FOR A COIL OF BALING WIRE OR THE LIKE COMPRISING A PAIR OF VERTICALLY EXTENDING, PARALLEL, SPACED SIDES BETWEEN WHICH THE COIL IS ADAPTED TO BE PLACED WITH THE AXIS OF THE COIL TRANSVERSE TO THE SIDES AND THE SIDES BEING TALLER THAN THEY ARE WIDE, SAID SIDE HAVING REGISTERING OPENING THROUGH WHICH WIRE MAY BE PASSED AND BEING MEDIALLY DIVIDED TO PROVIDE A CONTAINER TOP HALF AND A CONTAINER BOTTOM HALF, THE SIDES OF SAID TOP HALF BEING IN THE SAME TRANSAXIAL PLANES AS THE SIDES OF THE BOTTOM HALF AND HAVING ABUTTING MARGINAL EDGES WHEREBY THERE IS NO OVERLAPPING OF THE RESPECTIVE HALVES, HINGE MEANS CONNECTING SAID TOP AND BOTTOM HALVES ALONG ONE LATERAL END OF THE CONTAINER, LATCH MEANS AT AN OPPOSITE LATERAL END OF THE CONTAINER FOR DETACHABLY HOLDING SAID HALVES TOGETHER, SAID HINGE AND LATCH MEANS BOTH BEING LOCATED ON THE MEDIAL DIVISION BETWEEN THE HALVES, A PAIR OF LATERALLY SPACED TIE RODS CONNECTING THE SIDES OF SAID BOTTOM HALF AND PROVIDING CRADLE SUPPORT FOR THE COIL, A PAIR OF LATERALLY SPACED TIE RODS CONNECTING THE SIDES OF SAID TOP HALF AND SO SPACED FROM THE COIL THAT HANDLES ARE PROVIDED FOR LIFTING THE CONTAINER, SAID TOP AND BOTTOM HALVES BEING CONSTRUCTED THE SAME AND BEING FULLY INTERCHANGEABLE. 